Art museums in Italy are striking in their diversity and magnificence. Each tourist in any city in the country will have a collection of art treasures that any other country can envy: Florence - magnificent palaces, Rome - religious artifacts, Milan - scientific delights, and each museum or gallery is worth visiting.
The beautiful quarter of Milan
One of the famous museums in Italy, and in Milan in particular, is the Pinacoteca Brera, which is located in the same quarter. The name comes from the Italian word "braida" or "brera", which means "land cleared of trees." Once this district was not part of the city, but was located on the border with it, but now this quarter is called "Milan Montmartre" because of its peculiar bohemian atmosphere, since in addition to the pinacoteca, the Academy of Fine Arts is also located here. In this area you can see the astronomical observatory, the botanical garden, and young people gather in the evening and at night, since Brera is a popular nightlife district of Milan.
Brera Art Gallery
The ancient Greeks had rooms where they kept works of art, including various clay tables, paintings painted on boards, and other painted works. Such stores were called pinakothek, which later began to be used by the Romans. Today, pinakothekas are called art (art) galleries, of which there are only seven at present, and one of them is the Brera pinakothek.
It is located in the palace, and at the entrance of every tourist there is a sculpture of Napoleon, and around the perimeter the courtyard is decorated with arched passages. The gallery is considered one of the most visited museums in Italy, and is on the 20th place in popularity.
The Pinakothek has 38 halls with paintings, which, for the convenience of visitors, are arranged in chronological order and divided by painting schools. One of the halls is dedicated to the art of the 20th century.
Initially, there was a base for students, and only in 1882 did the art gallery appear, which was very popular among students of the Academy of Fine Arts.
Pinacoteca Brera: paintings
More than 30 halls store the work of famous Italian artists from different eras. In the halls you can find the works of Caravaggio, Goya, Tintoretto, Rembrandt. The paintings are distributed in the gallery and divided into eras, but there are some rooms that are dedicated to only one artist who brought fame to Italy.
A special feature of the gallery is not only paintings, but also frescoes belonging to the 14-16 centuries. They are exhibited in special rooms, where they tried to recreate the model of the destroyed buildings, in which there were frescoes.
The most famous and main works are considered such as “Dead Christ” (Mantegna), created at the beginning of the 16th century, “The Miracle of St. Mark” (Tintoretto), “Portrait of Moses Kiesling” (Modigliani), “Betrothal of the Virgin Mary” (Rafael) . Paintings belonging to the collection of the gallery are the most significant among the collections of Italian painting. The collection was assembled for many years, and it arose not thanks to the donations of aristocrats, but as a result of a progressive cultural policy, where the works were purchased specifically to improve the quality of education.
Gallery collection
The Pinacoteca Brera in Milan stores the most valuable canvases of Italian masters, and already in the first room are images of Jesus Christ, which were created by different artists at different times: Rosso, Marino, Modigliani and other authors.
Further in the following rooms, Italian painting from the 13th to 16th centuries is presented, as well as works by such artists as Giovanni de Milano. Venetian painting of the 15-16 centuries is located in the 5th and 6th halls, and the most famous work is "Mourning of Christ with Mary and John," written by Giovanni Bellini.
The works of the Venetian period can be seen in the 7th, 8th, 9th and 14th halls, where paintings by Lotto, Tintoretto, Basanno and others are presented.
The works of the Lombardy period are in rooms 15 and 19, where portraits, landscapes and frescoes that are collected in various monasteries are presented.
Separately devoted to the work of the province of Emilia, whose center is Bologna. These works can be found in halls 20, 22 and 23. The 21st hall is work of the 15th century, and in the 24th hall - Piero della Francesca and Rafael. The paintings exhibited here are from the Renaissance (15-16 centuries).
27 and 28 halls - painting of central Italy, 30 hall - Lombard painting of the 17th century, 31, 32 and 33 halls are the work of masters from the Netherlands, 34 hall - icons of the 18th century, 35 and 36 - Venetian painting of the 18th century, 37 and 38 halls - painting of the 19th century.
Caravaggio Hall
Room number 29 is completely reserved for the work of the great Italian master - Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi), who was the founder of realism and the greatest baroque master in the 17th century. This was an outstanding artist, who transferred all his works immediately to the canvas, and not a single drawing or sketch was found.
Pinacoteca Brera presents the work of the master and his students, and the most famous painting in the gallery is “Dinner at Emmaus” 1605 - 1606 year of creation. It depicts the climax when Christ appeared before two disciples, on the third day after the crucifixion.
Caravaggio painted two paintings of the same name, but the first was painted in 1602, and today is stored in the National Gallery of London. The painting presented in Milan has a simpler composition, it does not use bright colors, people’s gestures are restrained, and the artist’s style is more gloomy compared to previous works.
21st Century Pinacotheca
One of the most popular museums opens doors for visitors every day so that they can get acquainted with the art of different eras of Italian masters. Students constantly come here to examine paintings, study the era and techniques of artists.
In addition to the gallery, there is a library of contemporary art, which contains more than 25 thousand volumes. The library is visited by students, teachers, and also conduct extra-curricular courses that are open to all, various contests, events and projects, information about which can be obtained on the museum website.
Pinacoteca Brera: address and cost
In city zone 1, in the same quarter, there is a pinothek at via Brera 28. In order to get to the gallery, you must purchase a ticket, the cost of which is 10 euros, and for the privileged category of citizens - 7 euros. Everyone for a fee of 5 euros can purchase an audio guide that will help guide the tour. For more information, please visit the Pinakothek website.
Pinakothek reviews
Everyone who has ever visited the famous gallery in Milan, was delighted with what he saw. This museum is included in all guidebooks and is recommended for viewing by those who love painting, and in particular Italian masters who are popular to this day. Several hours spent in the Pinakothek will fly by unnoticed, as the paintings leave a strong impression, because this is real art.
The Pinacoteca is not the most popular place among tourists, because many people come to Milan for shopping, and most people who study art and know what can be seen go to the museum. Those who come to the gallery by chance or like to visit such cultural places are recommended to take an audio guide or just a guide that will tell a lot of interesting things about the history of paintings and about the artists who created works of art.